Greycie
Board Addict
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 363
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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Currently, I'm taking hydro/apap (generic Vicodin or Lorcet) for my pain on an as needed basis. Here's where it gets frustrating- I woke up in the middle of the night with incredible pain. Got out of bed early and went to the couch to hopefully be able to sleep with ease and also took 15 mg of hydro. which currently has me feeling higher than a kite but at the same time, it hasn't even tempered my pain. Personally, I hate the high that comes along with they hydro- but we all do what we have to do to get rid of the pain, no? Anyhow, if the only thing I'm feeling is higher than a kite and I still have excruciating pain, what's the point? What I want to know is if there is any medication out there that anybody has any experience with that might work better for the pain part of it? I don't like the high part of it, but can deal with it if it rids me of my pain and I also don't want to take any more hydro because I don't want to feel any 'higher' than I already do. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks!
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Sky_Queen
Fly Girl
Reged: 12/03/02
Posts: 1902
Loc: Northeast Texas
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Greycie, I've been having similar problems - waking up in the night with pain and not being able to go back to sleep. If I take the Lortab, that just kind of wires me up. So....this morning I tried taking some Ibuprofen and some Xanax - went back to sleep like a baby. Not saying it will work for you - but couldn't hurt to try.
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potatoboy99
Permanent Fixture
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 1063
Loc: Still Here
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www.frustratedmeds.com
Sorry, I couldn't resist.........
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Greycie
Board Addict
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 363
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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Thanks Legit- I have sleeping pills because I also suffer from off and on insomnia- but by the time I wake up, if I take the sleeping pills, I won't get up for work, lol. Catch 22? Anywho, I'm more concerned about relieving the pain when I'm awake. My doctor wants me to take the sleeping pills on a regular basis because he believes that if I'm getting a good nights sleep that I won't have as much back pain, but that's not true- I still do. I know I'm going to have to discuss this with him soon because I can't stand getting the 'high' and not getting any relief. I have that same reaction you do, though, with the hydro- it gets me wired and if I take it before going to sleep, I will be in a transe like state all night- so I try not to take it during the week. What a deal.
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yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1032
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I'm sure you know this, but anyone else in the same position reading this post, avoiding describing it as a "high." Say you get "that mental cloudiness" or "that heavy drowsiness which I don't really like" instead of describing it as a high. Just gets you taken a little more seriously.
-yawkaw
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Greycie
Board Addict
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 363
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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I understand what you're saying Yawkaw, but I'm not one who is seeking it or even enjoys it- I am notorious for calling a spade a spade and that's exactly what it is. I'm all for YaY for you if you like it, but for me, I hate it. My ex-boyfriend use to say I had a love hate relationship with my meds because I HATE the way they make me feel mentally- but know I need them for pain. That was the point- I want something that doesn't do this to me. Call it anything you want, but that's how it is.
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prettyday
Veteran
Reged: 02/09/03
Posts: 725
Loc: Coastal Sage Scrub
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Actually, I kind of wonder if I know what you mean.
I had to have shots of Demerol 3 times in my life, over varying years of age, fitness, and overall intake of food, whatever.
Well, I always hated it! I felt like I was floating above my head, nauseated and cotton mouthed, and my tongue just felt fat. Because I looked so out of it, they would tell me I was feeling better, and I COULDN'T TALK! I wanted to say hey, now I'm in pain and dizzy! I know you are trying to help me, but, ummm, is this good?
WELL
It turns out that I have a really dangerous allergy to Demerol, and the last time I could have died. Now that would have terrible for the staff that was just trying to help, and in all the constant reading of all the articles about CP and/or depression, I read that ERs are slowly but surely turning away from Demerol.
I read more and more articles that are linking painful conditions to allergies or reactions...
Greycie, do you think this could be an allergic reaction?
There might be a med out there that better tailored to your chemistry would go more to the site of your pain and less to your head. At the same time, I know finding a doc who will figure this out with you is not easy....
I wish you luck! 
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"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." -Emilano Zapata
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chevygal
Veteran
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 503
Loc: Way down south
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prettyday,
I wonder if an allergy is why I can not take cold and flu medicine without feeling like I am going to crawl out of my skin. Most people get drowsy when they take it, I do the opposite, I get very hyper and my head tingles and I shake. When I do have take stuff like that I can only take it in the morning or else I would be up all night. As far as the hydro, I don't mind the feeling it gives ya when ya first take it, and it doesn't really last all that long anyway. As far as the strong stuff like the demerol I do not care to feel so out of control, and the one time I had a shot of it that is how I felt.
prettyday it is a good thing nothing else really bad happened to you when they gave you that stuff.
chevygal
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sherm8
Member
Reged: 01/07/02
Posts: 108
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I've been having a problem of waking up and hurting, especially my legs. Not sure if it's because when I'm sleeping I'm not moving much and everything is getting stiff or what. But I've found that if I take a couple of vioxx before bed it seems to help.
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quincy
Board Addict
Reged: 11/07/02
Posts: 333
Loc: pacific northwest
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Has anyone who dosen't like the "feeling of mental cloudyness" or "dizziness/sleepiness" ever tried non-narcotic pain releivers? I know not everyone can take Cox-2's like Vioxx or Bextra and they don't work for everyone, but many swear by them. They don't do squat for me.
If you do need a narcotic, then maybe try methadone. Yes, methadone. In low doses, it releives pain and you do not get "high". That is why it is used to wean addicts off heroin. IT is a very good painkiller though, and as long as you find the right dose- not too much- then you don't get that crappy feeling. I know what you mean-lately I've been feeling very "crappy" from my meds, I think this is dysphoria.
Sarah
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Greycie
Board Addict
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 363
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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Hmmm... well, oddly, I'm allergic to codeine- but the reaction I have to that is vomiting followed by passing out  As for the hydro, don't think it's an allergic reaction, but I'll definitely run it by my doc. I can't stand it. Anywho- as for who asked if I've tried non-narcotic pain relievers? Yes! I've tried about everything, it seems Sadly, they don't work. Most recently, Bextra, which I had high hopes for- but without success.
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prettyday
Veteran
Reged: 02/09/03
Posts: 725
Loc: Coastal Sage Scrub
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Chevygal, I get the same reaction from cold and flu meds.
I also have a problem with codiene-the moment my stomach starts processing it. I get sick; I get a headache.
That is where the ability to change meds is so important.
That is also what helps me to be almost guilt-free about my pain meds. As I have said before, relief of pain feels pretty good. That is not floating euphoria. I find it maddening that one is expected to bravely say "I am prepared to live with a pain level of a 2or3" constantly, in order to be considered legitimate pain patients. What is wrong with bringing it down to a 1, a level that one can easily distract oneself from by arguing with their husband or mom!
Although, people drink to get a 'buzz'...if you think about it, I see scenes in movies all the time where the characters wake up with a hangover, and it is very ha, ha, ha. I was nineteen when I saw a college boy with a broken back, and the most horrifying amount of blood flowing downhill toward me (I was bicycling home; it flowed around my wheels.)(All I could think about was his mom; you raise and worry and love over a little boy, fuss and coo over his falls and scratches and little scabs, send him out into the world, and then...)
I find it curious that is cool to get blasted and then climb in, on-the-average a 6,000 pound deadly weapon and glide on down the highway;
but the delivery driver makes one guilty when one is housebound and sticking one hand out the front door.
Go figure! 
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"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." -Emilano Zapata
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prettyday
Veteran
Reged: 02/09/03
Posts: 725
Loc: Coastal Sage Scrub
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I needed to add that it is really nice when someone posts they are happy nothing worse happened to you-- thank you Chevygal!
I also needed to add that I really have given Vioxx and Celebrex a decent run and a good deal of my money.
Just plain Anacin or headache powders seem to work better.
Now when I was a young girl, with difficult times of the month, we'll say, the dr would give me Anaprox. Worked great! Years later as Naproxen, hurt my stomach. What gives?
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"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." -Emilano Zapata
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phlebomom
Stranger
Reged: 09/15/03
Posts: 16
Loc: Ohio
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Dear Greycie,
I am sorry to hear that you aren't getting good pain relief with the 15 mg. of hydro. I am also in a similar situation. I take up to 4 norco a day and am still in alot of pain! I would ask the doc about some soma or another muscle relaxant that you can take at night along with your hydro. That might do the trick. I have been taking asprin and ibuprofen along with my hydro and that does seem to give it a kick in the butt. The one thing that would probably help you since you are already on a high dose of hydro is to switch from that to something like oxycodone. It will give you more pain rleief and may actually not give you the same high feeling that the hydro does. I know that has been my experience. The percocets that I was taking didn't even come close to making me feel as out of it as the hydro did! Everyone is different though and you have to find out how your body reacts to each medication. Good luck and God bless.
Love, Donna 
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Greycie
Board Addict
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 363
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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I've tried Percocet also- but same reaction- I have a high pain threshhold, so by the time it's severe enough I need to take pain meds, I pretty much can't stand up. Anyhow, the amount of percs my doc was giving me wasn't lasting as long as the amount of hydro. Blah! Believe it or not, when he first gave it to me, this is the amount I've had to take- oh, and for the percs- I have to take 10 mg to get the same relief as the 15 mg of hydro and I do get that same feeling Still, if it knocks out my pain- I can deal with it. Might try ibuprofin though, as you'd suggested Thanks!
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